Follow My Lead
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: When one of Cedric's spells backfires and causes him to forget his knowledge of magic, Sofia has to take the reins and help him regain his magic awareness while attempting to locate the counter spell.


Follow My Lead

Summary: When one of Cedric's spells backfires and causes him to forget his knowledge of magic, Sofia has to take the reins and help him regain his magic awareness while attempting to locate the counter spell.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Sofia the First_.

A/N: Magic knowledge loss… I imagine that would be awful for a sorcerer. Lol. At least it's not complete memory loss this time! Haha. Enjoy!

*Story*

"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!"

Roland and Miranda turned from their discussion in the throne room as their kids walked inside, the school day complete. The king and queen exchanged glances once before turning back to their children.

"Hey," Miranda greeted with a soft smile. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Zandar and I got a 'B' on our project," James bragged as he held up a packet of papers. "Not bad for getting it done in only three hours."

Amber gave her twin a disappointed stare. "It's _amazing_ the things you are proud of, James." She smiled and nudged Sofia. "Meanwhile, Sofia was my partner, and we made an 'A-plus!'"

Sofia grinned. "Well, it helped that we got a great topic: magical fashion."

Roland chuckled. "Seems like that was practically made for you two."

"I'm gonna go walk Rex," James announced as he put his project into his backpack. "I'll see you guys later!" He took off.

"Sofia, did you want me to help you pick out a gown for that charity ball next week?" Amber asked.

The younger girl nodded. "Yeah. But can we do it after supper? I wanted to go see Mr. Cedric first." She missed the looks on her parents' faces when she mentioned her mentor's name.

The blonde smiled knowingly and nodded. "Okay. We'll do it after we eat then. But I guess I can go ahead and pick out _my_ gown." She bid her family goodbye and left for her room.

"Um, Sofia, about Cedric," Roland began, getting the girl's attention. "There's…something you should know."

The princess's face fell upon hearing those words. Immediately, her skin grew cold and a hundred scenarios flooded her mind. Was he sick? Did he get hurt? Did he…leave? She nearly panicked when her mother called out to her.

"Sofia," Miranda spoke, smiling gently when her daughter stared at her with worried eyes. "Relax. He's okay. He's still here, too, in case that's what you were thinking."

Sofia sighed in relief before frowning. "Then…what do I need to know?"

The king cleared his throat before sighing. "Well, from what we understand, one of Cedric's spells backfired on him, and—"

The princess gasped in horror. "Oh, my gosh! Mr. Cedric! And you said he's _not_ hurt?"

Roland shook his head. "Not hurt, but… Apparently the mishap caused him to…" He shrugged as Sofia stared at him anxiously, waiting for him to finish. "…He's forgotten how to do magic, Sofia."

The girl's mouth hung open. Cedric…without magic? "I've got to go!" She took off quickly, her destination pretty obvious.

"I had a feeling that would be her reaction," Miranda told Roland, who sighed. "Maybe she'll be able to help him somehow."

"I sure hope so. A royal sorcerer without magic?"

Sofia didn't even bother knocking. She quickly opened Cedric's door and rushed in, noting his dreary state as he slumped in his chair, his head tilted back. "Mr. Cedric…"

The sorcerer looked up and sighed. "Sofia…" He frowned. "I guess you heard?"

She walked over to him and hugged him gently. "I'm so sorry." She released him and looked toward him expectantly. "So, how do we fix this?"

Cedric shook his head as he folded his arms. "That would require the counter spell to whatever spell I conducted…which I don't recall. I don't remember _anything_ about magic, Sofia… No spells, no potions, no wand secrets, nothing. It's just—poof—gone. _You_ now know more magic than I do, my dear."

"Hmm…" Her eyes lit up. "I do?" A grin spread across her face. "You're right…"

He huffed. "This is not the time to be gloating, Sofia."

"It's not that, Mr. Cedric! But you're right—I know magic. I can help you relearn it!"

"Don't forget the counter spell," Wormwood remarked from his perch nearby, getting both of their attention. "Reteaching him magic is one thing, and a tedious task at that, but without that counter spell, this whole idea is pretty much not even worth it. There's a whole lot more that he knew and had studied for years that he has yet to even teach you, you know."

Cedric sighed heavily and draped one arm over his eyes. "Thanks for that, Wormy. Just one more conundrum I'll have to face."

Sofia tapped her chin in thought before glancing toward Wormwood. "I have an idea. Wormwood, I'll work with Mr. Cedric to help him remember the basics. You know a lot about magic too, right?"

The raven frowned. "Yes…?"

"Can _you_ try to locate the counter spell?"

Wormwood blinked a few times before shrugging. "I probably could… He has a whole book of them, after all."

"Wish I could remember that," Cedric remarked sourly and sarcastically as the other two conversed.

Sofia rolled her eyes before nodding toward Wormwood. "All right. If you can start searching for some sort of magic memory restoration spell or whatever it might be called, that would be great."

Wormwood smirked. "I'm on it, Princess." He took flight, but not before saying, "The less I have to be around this grouchy case of magical amnesia, the better." He grabbed a red book in his talons before flying out the window.

"I heard that!" Cedric snapped, but to no avail, seeing his raven was already gone. He glanced toward Sofia, sighing. "Sofia, you don't actually have to do this, you know. Once Wormwood locates the spell, I'll get all my previous knowledge back anyway."

She smiled mischievously and grabbed both of his hands, pulling him to his feet. "True, but what if I teach you magic you might not have known before?"

"As interesting as that sounds, given my actual occupation, it would stand to reason that I should know just about all forms of magic, right?"

"Uh-huh." She held up her arm with her Enchantlet on it. "Do you know what this is?"

He frowned thoughtfully before shaking his head. "No…"

Sofia smiled. "I rest my case. Now just relax and I'll get everything ready!"

Cedric realized he didn't really have much of a choice and decided to humor her, so he stood back against the wall as he waited for his apprentice to prepare things for them to study. He couldn't help smiling softly as he watched the girl, so enthusiastically setting up different items and un-shelving numerous books and scattering them about on the table, and all for his benefit. In truth, she had all the makings of being a great teacher of magic and sorcery when she was older if she felt inclined to do so… Or at least he supposed she did; forgetting all that knowledge of magic was really starting to get to him. He sighed before hearing his name called.

The princess grabbed her friend's hand and practically dragged him over to the table, pushing him onto the stool she usually occupied. Instead, she stood on a chair to see the materials better. "Ready?"

"I suppose so… Anything is better than having a vacant memory."

Sofia nodded. "Then let's get started. Here." She handed him his family wand while she held onto her usual wand.

Cedric frowned. "The family wand?"

" _Your_ family wand, Mr. Cedric. I can't think of a better way to either practice or call up your memories than for you to have the one thing that means the most to you. It's the most important thing to you, right?"

He smiled at her thoughtfulness before gently patting her hand. "The _second_ most." He chuckled as she giggled shyly. "I think my persistent and caring apprentice will always come first."

She grinned. "Don't make me hug you again." She held up her wand. "Let's get started! Just follow my lead."

They began with the simplest of spells: cleaning spells, object transformations, transference spells, and so on. Sofia was pleased (though not surprised) to see that Cedric seemed to grasp those easily, each having been a success. They began progressing, incorporating potions into the mix. Cedric had no trouble with the words of each spell or properly identifying each ingredient Sofia asked for when crafting any given potion (i.e. a healing potion). However, Sofia did realize one issue…

"Okay, Mr. Cedric," she began with a smile after they'd been practicing for about an hour, "time to review. What's the rock-into-ruby spell? It's one of the first things you ever taught me."

Cedric opened his mouth to respond before pausing, a deep frown set onto his features. "I…don't remember."

Blue eyes blinked in surprise. "Wh-What?"

He shook his head. "I can't recall, Sofia…"

"But… I thought if we did this, it would—"

Cedric sighed and lowered his head to the table, groaning in frustration. "It's no use… You could teach me magic for ten days in a row, and I would still be unable to remember anything. Nothing is staying in my mind or, in all honesty, seeming familiar to me." He glanced up at his disappointed friend. "Unless Wormwood finds that spell, I'm doomed to spend the rest of my life magicless…"

Sofia sighed heavily, realizing this was going to be much harder than she thought. She grew thoughtful as an idea came to her. "Maybe we've been going about this the wrong way." She smiled at her mentor, who was still slumped over the table (just as he had been when she'd entered the room earlier). "Mr. Cedric… How does magic make you _feel_?"

The sorcerer gave the girl a puzzled look. "Feel?"

"Yeah! Like when I do magic, I feel excited and happy, because it's so much fun and interesting. Plus, the greatest sorcerer in the world is the one who taught me."

He smiled appreciatively before sitting up. "I feel…energized…" He shook his head. "I can remember how I _feel_ about magic, but not the actual magic itself…"

"I know. That's why I'm asking." She waved her hand. "Keep going."

"Magic makes me feel…useful—needed, even." He gave the princess a knowing look when she frowned in concern. "I know what you're going to say, Sofia. And thank you."

She smiled softly.

"Magic is one thing I am known for—albeit more positively now after all these years. You had a large role in that."

"But you did most of it on your own, Mr. Cedric," she countered. "Sure, I told you I believed in you and that you could do it—both of which I still believe… But _you_ had to do it, not me. I just want you to be yourself again."

"So, that's why you're trying so hard to restore my memories, hmm?"

She nodded. "Mr. Cedric without magic is like me without…" She couldn't seem to come up with a good comparison. "Hmm."

Cedric raised his eyebrows at her. "Like _Sofia_ without positivity, encouraging words, high spirits, second chances, a sincere smile, a good heart…"

Sofia blushed modestly. "You really believe all that about me, Mr. Cedric?"

He smiled thoughtfully. "Of course I do. You've more than proven it to me after all this time."

Wormwood flew back inside through the open window, dropping the book onto the table and landing on top of it. He sighed heavily as he glanced back and forth between his master and the princess. "Any luck?"

"Well…" Sofia shrugged. "He did everything right, but he just can't remember things, even after I've just taught him."

"Of course, Princess Sofia. That's sort of what happens when you've got that type of spell on you. _However_!" He stepped back onto the table and used his talons to open up the book, flipping several pages in. "I believe I've located the counter spell that will get Cedric back to normal."

Cedric lit up. "Really?"

"Yes, and despite its near impossibility to see mixed in with all these other spells, it's almost insultingly simplistic."

The sorcerer frowned. "If it's 'heal-o the sorcerer-o,' I'm writing a letter to the Conjurors' Board."

Sofia giggled. "What is it, Wormwood?" She glanced down at the book as the raven nudged it toward her. She then blinked. "Well… It really _is_ kind of easy…" She held up her wand. "Ready, Mr. Cedric?"

"More than I've ever been." He closed his eyes and waited.

After glancing down at the book one final time, she placed the end of the wand directly in the center of Cedric's forehead. " _Restaurata Magicis Memorias_."

A slow stream of lavender-colored magic seeped from her wand and surrounded Cedric for a few moments before seeming to be absorbed by the sorcerer. The wand grew quiet and still soon enough. Both Sofia and Wormwood observed Cedric carefully.

Cedric opened his eyes and blinked at his small audience. "Quickly, ask me something magic-related."

"What is your mother's recipe for fly cakes?" Wormwood asked sarcastically.

"Ugh, not _that_ kind of magic question…"

Sofia pondered before trying her question, a little grin on her face as she did so. "What's the spell for conjuring up a plate of cookies?" As a matter of fact, they hadn't even covered that spell during their practice, so if he knew it…

He returned the grin and took the wand from her, tapping her hands. " _Cookieossity._ " He laughed happily when the spell worked, and Sofia smiled excitedly upon having a delicious-looking plate of cookies in her hands. "Yes! It works! My magical knowledge is back!"

"Of all the spells you could have done, you had to do one involving food." Wormwood rolled his eyes.

Cedric gave the bird a deadpanned look. "Were you not the one asking for the fly cakes recipe a minute ago?"

Wormwood smirked and took off through the window again.

Sofia giggled as she placed the cookies on the table before taking her wand back from Cedric and handing his family wand to him again. "I'm proud of you, Mr. Cedric. Of course, you realize you'll have to thank Wormwood later for finding that spell."

"Naturally. Otherwise, I'll never hear the end of it." He glanced up as he heard a knock fall on his door. "Come in."

Roland stepped inside, an unsure look on his face. "So… Any luck?"

Sofia smiled toward her mentor. "Mr. Cedric?"

Cedric shrugged and pointed his wand at the king, who appeared a bit hesitant. (After all…considering recent circumstances, perhaps pointing a wand at him without giving him a heads up was not such a great idea, but still…) " _Levitate_."

Roland seemed surprised when he suddenly began floating a few inches from the floor. "Oh, good! You got your magical knowledge back!" He cleared his throat before looking to Cedric. "Now kindly put me back down, Cedric…"

The sorcerer smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Y-Yes, Your Majesty." With a gentle flick of the wand, he lowered Roland to his feet again. "The princess was a great aid in helping me, King Roland. You should be quite proud of her."

Sofia wanted to correct him but realized telling her dad that Wormwood had discovered the counter spell might sound a little strange, even for an enchanted land… Not to mention, Wormwood still had some sneaky tendencies. So she decided to just roll with it. "Mr. Cedric…"

"I'm very proud of her," Roland acquiesced with a smile toward his youngest. "So, now that you've regained your magic, I assume you two would like to have your lessons, correct?" He nodded to himself before they could even respond. "I'll have Baileywick send up your supper." He smiled and left, shutting the door behind him.

Cedric blinked. "Well, that was…unexpected." He laughed once before sitting down as Sofia did the same. "Welcome, but unexpected."

"I know! I'm happy it all worked out." Sofia grinned as she twirled her wand like she'd seen him do so many times, though she still obviously needed practice as it flew from her hand. What surprised her was how quickly and effortlessly he caught it. She laughed. "Nice job, Mr. Cedric!"

He smirked and handed the wand back to her. "Careful, Sofia. Wouldn't want another magical mishap." He straightened up. "So…magic and food…"

She giggled. "I can't think of a better duo."

Cedric chuckled. "I can…"

Sofia smiled happily.

The end


End file.
